BRADNER: GOP donors, lobbyists cozying up to Pence

Indiana Gov. Mike Pence, right, announces that revenue's and reserves are higher than projected during a press conference with State Auditor Tim Berry in Indianapolis, Thursday, July 11, 2013. The report shows the state ended fiscal year 2013 with a structural surplus of $483 million, which is $93 million higher than the budget bill projected. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy)

INDIANAPOLIS - Top Republican donors and lobbyists are increasingly finding that they have a friend in Gov. Mike Pence.

Through his first six months in the governor's office, Pence has rewarded key state-level power players with positions on state commissions and university boards. He has kept them close in unofficial capacities and sent them off with state-issued awards.

That Pence would stick close to Indiana's reliably Republican group of influencers with business ties to state government was clear on his inauguration day.

The master of ceremonies as Pence was sworn in was Ed Simcox, a former Indiana secretary of state who now heads the Indiana Energy Association, a position that makes him one of the state's most powerful lobbyists.

It was a big legislative session for Simcox, who got lawmakers to approve a "tracker" measure - most in the Statehouse just called it "Ed Simcox's bill" - that streamlines the process for rate hikes associated with utility companies' spending on infrastructure.

He added some incentives for building out natural gas lines to rural areas, which gave the governor and Republican lawmakers a public case to make in support of the bill. But make no mistake: the "trackers" are its heart.

Recently, Pence has tapped a number of close associates and donors for jobs on state panels.

One glaring example was Randall Tobias, the former Indianapolis pharmaceutical executive who left his job in President George W. Bush's administration after being identified as a client of the escort service run by the "D.C. madam."

In May, Tobias who has donated tens of thousands of dollars to Pence contributed a $10,000 check to the governor's campaign account. Six weeks later, Pence named Tobias to the Indiana University board of trustees.

Newly-named members of the Indiana Career Council, which is intended to align the state's education and job-creation efforts, include three of the state's most powerful and prominent business lobbyists.

For roles as "special advisers" to the council, Pence tapped: Pat Kiely, the former Indiana House Ways and Means chairman who now works as president of the Indiana Manufacturers Association; Kevin Brinegar, the long-time president and chief executive officer of the Indiana Chamber of Commerce; and J.R. Gaylor, the president and chief executive officer of the Associated Builders and Contractors, Inc.

The governor also handed out a state honor the Sagamore of the Wabash award to two political allies. He gave outgoing Indiana Republican Party Chairman Eric Holcomb and outgoing vice chairwoman Sandi Huddleston those awards.

His selection to replace Holcomb, too, shows no inclination to challenge the key players who shape state government from the outside.

Pence tapped state Auditor Tim Berry, who has held that office for six years and served as state treasurer for eight years before that.

The companies that receive contracts from those offices are often represented by Indianapolis lobbying firms that are able to get away with rent-seeking behavior because they are packed with top Republican donors.

The selection of Berry as well as the appointment of Kyle Robertson, Pence's campaign manager, as the Indiana Republican Party's executive director helps Pence consolidate some political power, yet it does little to shake up the GOP's financial power structure.

Some lobbyists groused at the end of this year's state legislative session that the governor's office was not immediately responsive to their questions and concerns. Still, so far, few of the individuals and organizations that flourished under former Gov. Mitch Daniels have seen their interests harmed under Pence, and they continue to gain new positions of influence.